Found by Cruxis
by Dark.koneko-chan
Summary: Basically, Anna doesn't die, her and Kratos work for cruxis and lloyd's left with Dirk...
1. Chapter 1

**Found by Cruxis**

**Prologue**

"Anna!" The auburn haired man named Kratos descended the cliff, frantically searching for his lost wife and son. Countless trees and shrubbery flashed quickly past him as he darted in and out of almost every different patch of the dense woods. Troubling thoughts overtook his mind, making his once cold and solitary heart ache as he desperately called out for the ones he was now bound to.

"Kratos. She's here." The man ran to the source of the voice, zigzagging past the trees until he came to a small clearing. A brunette woman was lying almost deathly still amongst the rocks and bushes, while someone stood literally hovering above the body, his lengthy blonde hair whipping slightly around his figure as the feathery appendages on his back beat at the air rhythmically, keeping him suspended.

"Yggdrasgil! Leave her alone!" Kratos' eyes flashed angrily as he directed his gaze at the angel before him. As he unsheathed his sword and got into his fighting stance, Yggdrasgil began to speak again.

"Is that any way to treat me after I just saved her life? _And_ I gave her a key crest for that exsphere of hers. Don't you want to thank me?" Yggdrasgil smirked at his former teacher as the latter's face became the perfect picture of confusion.

He glanced at his wife's seemingly healed body. She looked perfectly fine and unharmed; the wound in her chest where he himself had stabbed her had disappeared entirely. As he glanced at her hand, he saw that she did indeed have a key crest for her exsphere. He looked back warily at Yggdrasgil.

"…Hmph. Thank you. But why did you do this?" He walked over to Anna as she slowly opened her eyes. After gently helping her to sit up, he eyed the man suspiciously. As he did so, he could see that Yggdrasgil was holding something behind his back, but what it was was anyone's guess.

The angel's icy gaze fixed on the strange couple as he spoke. "Because I want you two to work for me again. Help Cruxis."

The woman laughed, completely against the idea. "Why the hell would we help you monsters after everything you've done to us?" she eyed him venomously as her husband's arms tightened around her.

"I thought you might ask." He smirked as he took his arm out from behind his back. He was holding a small distressed boy of around two or three years of age who was crying quietly. Anna and Kratos gasped in shock.

"Lloyd!" Anna got to her knees instanly and stretched out her arm for her little one. Kratos did the classic "..." then clenched his fists as he pulled his wife back.

"Mommy! Daddy! Hewp me! Pease!" Little Lloyd increased the volue of his cries as he saw his mother and father.

Yggdrasgil spoke again. "Now if you want him to live, then I suggest you do as I say. So, will you help us... or let him suffer?"

"Mommy! Daddy!" Lloyd flailed arond helplessly, desperately trying to reach out for his parents.

"...If we do decide to work for you, then what will happen to my baby?" Anna looked down at her feet dejectedly as a lone tear trickled down her cheek.

The blonde angel smiled as he answered the woman. "You have a choice. He can also work for me, or he can stay here."

"On his own? Are you mad?" Kratos shouted.

"There is a dwarf that lives near here. I would leave him in his care."

"A dw-"

"Kratos!" Anna cut him off. "This could be best for him. I don't want him to grow into a lifeless angel that can't feel anything... I'd rather him live happily, here... even if it is without us..." Tears flowed freely down her face as she whispered to her husband.

Kratos sighed in defeat. "…Yggdrasgil. Leave him in the care of that dwarf. But I swear, if he gets harmed-"

"He won't be harmed Kratos, I swear. Now. I will take him to the dwarf then you will come back to Dherris Kharlan with me. Any last words before he leaves?" Yggdrasgil smirked.

Anna rose slowly as she walked over and kissed Lloyd gently on the forehead. "Lloyd, I promise you- we will see each other again when you're older. Please grow strong and live happily for us." She had taken her exsphere off when no one was looking and now swiftly placed it in Lloyd's little pocket of his red suit. "Remember. We love you."

She turned and walked back to Kratos, hugging him tightly.

"It's okay..." He comforted her, but not truly believing what he said himself.

Yggdrasgil put his wings away and walked over to a little wooden house, still holding the crying child. He spoke to a dwarf for some time, then came back to the couple, with Lloyd nowhere in sight.

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**Hope that's okay but we shall see, R&R ! ^.^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Found by Cruxis**

Fourteen years later, an older Lloyd was in school in Iselia.

"Lloyd! Lloyd Irving, wake up!" Yes, he was in school, but he certainly wasn't paying attention.

"Huh? Oh, did you say something, professor?" The teenage boy was standing at the back of the small classroom...again. As he never really paid attention to his lessons, this spot at the back was beginning to become his permanent seat.

The silver haired professor sighed, once again wasting her efforts on someone who refused to be taught. "...Nevermind. Honestly, Lloyd. I don't know how you manage to sleep standing up. Anyway-" Suddenly, a bright light flashed outside, illuminating the entire classroom and stopping Raine's speech.

The professor then continued to tell the class to stay in the school and study until she came back from the temple, then briefly argued with Colette about her going too. After the Chosen had lost the argument, Professor Raine was out the door and off to study a temple! Hooray!

Lloyd left his spot at the back of the class and walked over to the doorway, wondering whether or not to follow his teacher.

"Lloyd! Where are you going?" Lloyd's half-elf best friend ran over to him. "Raine will be mad if you go- she said to stay and study!"

At this, Lloyd made a face, and Colette walked over to join them.

"Colette! Do you wanna come with me? I'm going to the temple." He asked hopefully.

"Sure!" She smiled.

After finally agreeing with Genis to leave the class and go to the temple, they ran into Colette's father, Frank. Frank then continued to tell them about the Desians going to the temple and agreed to let them go as long as they were all careful and came back unharmed.

"I wonder why the Desians went to the temple?" Lloyd questioned, as they fought their way past ghosts and zombies. "I thought Iselia had a non-aggression treaty with them."

The three teens were at the bottom of the steps leading up to the Martel temple, when...

"…It's really bright!" Colette covered her eyes slightly as she gazed up at the bright light.

"... Colette, considering you're the Chosen, you don't act very chosen-like, y'know." Genis sighed and shook his head while putting his arms out to his sides, as he so often does.

As they were about to head up the steps to the temple, a figure came stumbling down. One hand was clutching his chest and the other was outstretched towards them. He collapsed at their feet.

"Pastor!" He was barely breathing.

"The…Desians…Sorry…couldn't…protect…chosen…"

Lloyd knelt down and looked at him, then shook his head sadly.

The three ran up the grand steps but came to a halt when they reached the top. There were Desians there, and they were demanding something of an old woman who was standing boldly in the doorway.

"Colette- run!" She shouted. At this point, we all realise that she's not a very clever old woman or she would've kept quiet, but anyway the Desians turned around and looked at the kids standing before them.

"Sir- there she is!" One of the Desians pointed out the obvious to a man who must've been one, but wasn't dressed in the uniform. He was tall and had dark brown hair.

"Get them!" He commanded. His underlings then came running at them. There were three Desians, and three of them. Genis stood at the back and cast basic spells such as fireball, on one, while Colette concentrated on hitting another with her chakrams, or little frisbees as I like to call them, while Lloyd stood at the front and hacked and slashed at the last with his stick swords. The Desians were defeated in a matter of minutes, but they really weren't the problem to begin with.

"Uh-oh." A giant man with a ball and chain thing lumbered towards them. Once again, they charged into battle, using the same strategy as last time.

Genis was at the back casting spells, and Lloyd and Colette up front hitting him, ineffectively, with their weapons. But they were down in a couple of minutes. The giant was preparing to finish them when a figure clad in purple stepped in the way.

"Who are you?" Lloyd looked up from where he sat on the ground, confused.

"Get out of the way." The most awesome guy in the whole game fought the giant guy while another figure stepped into view. She had long brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, making her resemble Lloyd quite a bit, and she was wearing an emerald coloured dress and a pair of brown slp on shoes. Not too good for fighting, but, hey- what did she care.

She stepped up to Lloyd and the others and smiled warmly at them.

"Are you ok?" She held out a hand and helped them up, one by one. They nodded and thanked the woman in turn.

"Good. Shall we?" They charged back into battle, helping the other man. The mysterious pair both used swords, but it seemed that the man could also use a bit of magic, as he healed them with first aid often.

Soon enough the big guy was defeated.

"Damn! I didn't think you'd show up- retreat for now!" The leader shouted and they all ran off somewhere like a bunch of wimps.

"Thank you for saving the chosen!" The old woman who had been hiding in the shadows now spoke.

"I see. This girl is the next chosen." The man said.

"Oh! That's right! Grandmother," Colette addressed the old woman. "I will go and receive the oracle now." At this, the woman's smiling face frowned a bit.

"But the priest's cannot accompany you now."

"I'll protect her!" Lloyd shouted, and stuck his hand up in the air, a proud look on his face. "I'm strong."

"Lloyd? I would be uneasy with just you…" She said, frowning slightly.

"Your name's Lloyd?" The two said, looks of shock gracing their faces.

"Yeah, but who are you?" He said, not wanting to be rude, as they had helped them, by saying his famous 'give me your name and I'll give you mine' line.

"...I'm Anna, and this is my husband, Kratos..." She was still not quite recovered from the shock.

Kratos glared at her. "...Yes. I am a mercenary, and Anna comes with me on my jobs. She does not like to be left by herself. We'd be glad to assist the Chosen, if you can pay us."

"Oh, thank you. I will arrange your payment with the mayor. Don't worry." She smiled.

"Well, I'm coming too!"

"So am I!" Lloyd and Genis weren't going to let Colette go with complete strangers.

"No. Why don't you just go back home and be good little boys."

Lloyd opened his mouth to protest, but Anna spoke first. "Don't be such a spoilsport Kratos! Let them come. They'll help!" She smiled at the boys.

They smiled back in gratitude.

"Hmph. Fine. This isn't a field trip, you know." He muttered as they all walked into the temple

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**Hope this was ok! ... Review please:)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Found by Cruxis**

The group of five stood in the first room of the Martel Temple. Kratos was standing with Colette at the front of the group and Anna was talking animatedly to Lloyd and Genis.

They stood and looked around the temple then decided they needed to retrieve the sorcerers ring to continue further into the temple.

"Wait!" Kratos turned to look at the brown haired boy before him. "Uhh…what's the sorcerers ring?"

"…Never mind. We just need to find it." Kratos turned and walked to the right path.

"Hmph." Lloyd stared after the mercenary.

"Don't mind him." Lloyd turned to Anna as Genis and Colette trailed after Kratos.

"He's just a bit…shocked, worried even."

"Why?" Lloyd asked, genuinely curious now. They walked on.

"Oh, umm, he's just worried about you and your friends. Children have never accompanied us on our jobs, and he doesn't have much experience with kids..."

"Don't you have any children, other family?"

Anna stopped abruptly, looking a bit taken aback. "N…no…not anymore."

Lloyd gazed up at Anna, confusion evident in his eyes.""Why? What happened?"

"...The Desians. Our son was taken away from us." She looked as if she was choking back tears. Her body trembled, lips quivered as she spoke. She hung her head, staring intently at the ground as her long hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall around her, hiding her face.

"Oh, I…I'm sorry, I didn't know... I can't remember my parents, y'know. They died, according to dad. This exsphere is my mom's or dad's. When Dirk took me in, he found it in my pocket."

Anna now looked truly shocked. Her head jerked up swiftly, eyes widened questioningly. "Who's Dirk?" That was all she could manage to say.

"Dirk's my adoptive father."

"Oh...Sorry."

The two walked down the steps after the others in an uncomfortable silence, each thinking about what the other had said.

They found Kratos, Genis and Colette fighting a rock monster. They both rushed to help, Anna to heal, and Lloyd to just slash aimlessly with his swords, but were both a bit late. By the time they got there, the monster was defeated.

"Where were you two?" asked Genis, turning to look at them.

"Oh, we were just talking. Sorry we took so long." Anna smiled as Genis eyed them suspiciously.

"Look!" Colette cried, causing everyone to turn to see what was the problem. "It turned into a rock!"

"Technically, it was already a rock but…" The young silver haired boy trailed off.

After the boring process of fighting a big rock, having it turn into a little rock, pushing that little rock down a hole and then running around to see where the next one needed to be pushed was repeated several different times, the group could finally get to the Sorcerers ring.

They walked down another flight of steps to the floor below, Genis and Lloyd running, Colette walking slowly behind them. Kratos and Anna lingered behind so Anna could tell her husband exactly what Lloyd had told her about his family.

"D'you think…?" Anna didn't finish her question, but Kratos knew what she meant anyway.

"It's entirely possible. I mean, what are the chances of another boy called Lloyd being found and raised by a dwarf because his parents 'died'? ... It has to be him. At least now, we know that…our…son, is safe." Kratos said, gentleness edging his voice.

Anna nodded, then they followed after the others, as Lloyd began to shout for them to hurry up. The couple smiled and hurried to reach the impatient boy.

"Is that it? The sorcerers ring, I mean?" Lloyd asked excitedly, as Anna and Kratos walked up the steps.

Lloyd, Genis and Colette were all standing around a pedestal. It was emanating a faint blue-ish light.

"Yes, that's it." Kratos said. "Would you like to take it, chosen?"

Colette opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Lloyd.

"No, No! I want to use it! Please, Colette?" He gazed at Colette with his big brown eyes.

She giggled. "Of course. I've used it before, anyway."

"Yay!" Lloyd picked up the sorcerers ring.

"Lloyd…" Genis sighed and shook his head, laughing.

Anna laughed too, and Kratos chuckled quietly.

"C'mon guys! Let's go back to that barrier!" He ran off, excited to try out the sorcerers ring on the barrier, and the others followed behind, laughing at him.

Colette and Genis ran off after him, not wanting him to get into any more trouble. Kratos and Anna hurried, but were in no big rush.

As they were walking, Kratos turned to Anna and simply stated, "He takes more after you, y'know." And walked off, leaving Anna staring at the mercenaries retreating figure. She just laughed, and followed.

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**I love adding Anna in, she's just so awesome XD R&R :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Found by Cruxis**

There was an air of anticipation in the Martel Temple, and even in the little village of Iselia, for the Chosen had been destined to receive the Oracle today. If all went well, everyone throughout Sylvarant would be liberated from the Desians.

The Chosen's group were standing in the first room of the Martel temple and, once again, heading for the middle path that led to the barrier that was blocking them from continuing to the temple's seal.

"C'mooooon! Hurry up!" Whined Lloyd, as he ran over to the barrier, impatiently waiting for everyone to gather round, so he could show off the newly acquired Sorcerers ring.

"Finally!" Lloyd said, as the rest of the group stopped and stood behind their unappointed leader.

He turned back to face the barrier, which was now emitting a purple light.

"….Lloyd…?" Genis said, as he stood behind his friend. Lloyd and Genis had been friends for years, since they both started school together, even though there was quite an age difference. But age didn't concern the two best friends. They would always play together, and when they saw that Colette was on her own, or looked a bit confused or upset, they would always ask her if she wanted to join in with their games, and of course, she did. Hence the three of them had been friends for ages. "Do you even know how to use the Sorcerers ring?" Questioned Genis.

"Uhhh…yeah! You just do this!" Lloyd demonstrated to the group, who were watching carefully. He pointed the ring at the barrier and, when nothing happened, he whacked it against the wall. That got it working. After hitting the ring on the wall, he pointed it at himself, to inspect the ring further, but a ball of fire came shooting out of the red gem on the ring and began burning his hair.

"Ahhh!" He yelped and jumped back, as the others watched in amusement. All apart from Colette.

"Genis! Do something!" She screamed at her friend.

"Aww, but it's so funny watching him and-" he stopped when he saw the look Colette was giving him, as Lloyd jumped about in the background, hopelessly trying to put out the fire on his hair. "Hehe…alright, alright. I'll help the idiot." Genis snickered. "Aqua Edge!" He cast his novice spell and water poured over Lloyd's head, leaving him sopping wet.

"Thanks, Genis." He said, through grated teeth.

"Hehe, any time, Lloyd. Any time."

"Can we _please _just get on and destroy this barrier now?" Kratos said, but a hint of amusement could be seen still in his eyes.

"Yeah, go on Lloyd- don't keep everyone waiting!"

If looks could kill, Genis would be long dead by now- courtesy of Lloyd, of course.

He turned to face the barrier, and took a cautious look at the Sorcerers ring, and saw a little button.

"…Ohhh. Damn, why didn't I see that earlier?" Lloyd mumbled to himself.

He pointed the ring at the barrier and pressed the small button, located on the red gem in the centre of the ring. Once again, a small ball of fire shot out of the ring and hit the barrier. In an instant, it was gone.

"…It only does that…?" Lloyd stated, sounding a little confused.

Genis sighed. "Honestly, Lloyd. You get bored so easily."

Anna, who had been unnaturally quiet up until now, spoke, "Let's go guys-I've got other things to do, so let's hurry." She went ahead of the group and walked onto the warp pad, the others following expectantly.

After heading up to the seal room, the lying angel Remiel appeared and naturally lied about a whole bunch of stuff, which then lead to the group turning their heads towards the window and looking out at the large tower that was appearing, coming from the ground itself, even.

"So that's the tower of Salvation!" Exclaimed Lloyd.

"Now the world will be saved!" Shouted Genis.

Anna shifted uneasily, and looked at her husband, a guilty expression shadowing her face. As they were standing behind the rest of the group, he reached out and took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

While the couple had been reassuring each other, the angel had told Colette to 'unlock the seals in the distant lands that guard the Tower of Salvation, and climb the stairs to heaven', and Colette had humbly accepted the task.

After Remiel had then told Colette where to go to release the first seal and a bunch of other crap, such as the whole 'I am your father' thing, he rose up, and disappeared from sight...yay!

Everyone was completely still, all absorbed in their own thoughts. All was quiet until Genis voiced his. "So that was the Oracle. I wish Raine could've seen it."

"Who's Raine?" Anna asked, the guilty expression gone from her face.

"My sister."

Anna nodded understandingly.

After Lloyd had stopped thinking, which wasn't long, because let's face it, this is Lloyd we're talking about, he went over to talk to Colette, as Kratos and Anna conferred quietly, and Genis still lingered by the altar.

"I can't believe Remiel is my father…" Colette was apparently still in a state of shock.

"Mmm…you're lucky Colette- you have two fathers now!" Lloyd grinned cheerily. On the inside however, he was a little jealous, because he did not have one proper father, let alone two.

Colette smiled back at him, unaware of his silent sorrow.

Kratos and Anna were still talking, but Lloyd didn't really seem to care. He wandered over to them anyway.

"You guys are acting a bit…I dunno, just strange. Are you okay?" He asked, truly concerned. These people had lost family too, and he knew what that felt like, so he would be nice to them, even if Kratos was a bit stuck up. Well, in Lloyd's opinion anyway.

Anna nodded. "Sorry, just got a bit lost in memories."

Kratos spoke up, fearing Anna would say things that need not be revealed.

"Yes, we travelled here, long ago, when our son was still with us. Being here again just brings up painful memories..." The mercenary looked away, eyes clouding over again.

"…Sorry. I…I didn't mean to interfere." He looked down at his feet.

Anna shook her head. "Don't worry. You needn't be sorry. You were just curious. Curiosity gets the better of this family sometimes." She gasped, after realizing what she just said.

"…This family?" Lloyd tilted his head to the side in a confused manner.

Kratos turned to her, seeing if she would be able to get out of this one herself.

"Uhh, I just meant…curiosity often gets the better of Kratos and me, so I guess I meant that it gets the better of us and you too, so…we're like…a very curious family!" Anna smiled sheepishly at Lloyd. He grinned happily back, whilst Kratos turned around and put a hand to his head in exasperation.

"Chosen. Let us get back now." He walked towards the warp pad and stood waiting for Colette.

"Yes, sure." She followed him.

"We will go on ahead. Be careful everyone." He turned and warped, Colette following after waving goodbye to her friends.

**...The 'I am your father' thing reminded me of Star Wars...hehe random moment XD Review :D **


	5. Chapter 5

**Found by Cruxis**

Everything was calm and serene in the little village of oracles, Iselia.

Or so it seemed...

Evening was approaching- the sky had turned a shade of pink, and orange painted the rest as the sun went down for the day.

Anna, Lloyd and Genis had left the Martel temple soon after Kratos and Colette, and had taken their time, as Lloyd and Genis were showing Anna the surrounding area near the Martel temple and Iselia. They hadn't taken too long though, as Anna insisted that they get back and make sure everyone was alright.

Now, they were walking up to Colette's house, where Kratos, Colette, Raine, the seriously awful mayor of the village, Frank and Phaidra were gathered to discuss the preparations and such of the journey that the Chosen must take to regenerate the world.

Anna walked up to the quaint house, and knocked once on the wooden door before entering, obviously needing no invitation to go in. Seeing as they didn't want to be left out and not know what was happening, Lloyd and Genis followed.

"Then it is settled. Kratos, Anna and Raine will accompany the Chosen on her journey." The mayor had just finish speaking before the three burst in through the door.

"Were you guys talking about the journey of regeneration just now?" asked Lloyd excitedly.

"Yes…but it is none of your concern." Kratos stated simply.

"Oh, you-" Lloyd began, irritated.

"Ahh, what he meant was," Anna intervened, once again to avoid any unnecessary arguments, "that…you've done enough fighting for today, and you're worn out, so you shouldn't concern yourself with any of this right now. You're too tired." Anna smiled, apologetically.

Lloyd stared at her, then glanced to Kratos, who had his head in his hands, "Somehow, I doubt he was going to say that, but still…"

Kratos sighed, "Why don't you just go home and rest. It is just as Anna said, you don't want to over exert yourself." Kratos said, gently, but firmly.

"Ahh, but…" he glanced at Anna. It looked as if she was trying to tell him with her eyes that it would be best for him to leave. "Okay, I'll go. C'mon Genis." He smiled at Anna, Raine and Colette, and forced a smile at Kratos, and then turned and left.

"Bye sis." Genis looked at his elder sister, then did as Lloyd had done and left.

The two boys stood outside the small wooden house, and were about to head to their homes, when…

"Wait!" Lloyd and Genis turned and looked back at the door, as Colette stumbled out.

"Sorry." She apologized to them and took a step forwards, but, being the clutz that she was, tripped and fell.

"Colette!" Lloyd helped her up, "you're so…ahh, never mind."

"Hehe...sorry."

After saying their farewells to Colette, Lloyd decided to accompany Genis to see his friend at the ranch. But being the pair of idiots that they are, they were discovered by the Desians.

"Demon Fang!" Lloyd quickly shot an attack so that they had time to escape.

Lloyd turned to Genis and grabbed his hand. "C'mon! Hold on and don't let go!" They ran to the cliff edge and jumped down, but landed safely on the forest floor, thanks to Lloyd's exsphere.

Genis swivelled to face Lloyd as soon as he hit the ground.

"Lloyd?" The brunette boys eyes were closed, but his face had a peaceful look about it. He didn't respond to Genis' call though. The half elf worriedly looked on at his friend while continually glancing around at the numerous pairs of glowing eyes lurking and watching silently from the bushes.

Meanwhile in Lloyd's head, his mind was playing a scene from his past, hidden deep in his memories.

_Flashback_

"_Ahhhh!" A young toddler with chocolate brown hair and the same colour eyes screamed loudly as he fell down a cliff, along with a green and white dog, with overly large ears, and the limp body of a woman with long brown hair._

_The next thing he saw was the same toddler being held behind a man's back. This said man had feminine-like blonde hair, and wings protruded from his back. He then caught a glimpse of the same woman who fell down the cliff, and a man with auburn coloured hair stood defensively by her side._

_His mind then showed him the woman placing a glowing, crystalline object into the toddler's pocket. The angelic man walked away, toddler in hands, then all went black._

"LLOYD!" Genis was frantically screaming his friends name over and over in a desperate attempt to awaken him. The glowing eyes were starting to move in and surround them- not good with Lloyd in the state that he was.

When Lloyd's eyes finally opened, he glanced around at his surroundings, unsure of what was going on. He found that he was lying on the ground with Genis hovering over him, tears welling up in the young boy's eyes.

"Genis…? Where are those people…? What happened?" Lloyd said drowsily.

"Lloyd! What people? We jumped off the cliff and you just…well, went weird…"

Lloyd thought to himself, 'It must've just been a dream…maybe I whacked my head on something as we came down…but still…ah, well no point in worrying Genis even more.'

"Okay, you best get going back home, before Raine comes looking for you." Lloyd stood up slowly, steadying himself on the Cliffside.

"…But are you sure you're okay…?" Genis asked, worry lacing his words. Lloyd turned away.

"Yeah…I'm fine…must've bumped my head. I'm okay!" He grinned a fake grin at Genis, but he was still slightly shocked and confused by what he had seen- it felt so real...

"Okay…Lloyd?"

He sighed, "Yeah, Genis?"

"…Thanks." Genis ran off out of the forest and all the way back to Iselia to the safety and comfort of his home, only looking back at his best friend once to wave.

Lloyd smiled to himself and shook his head, as he walked quickly to Dirk's house, vowing to stay as far away from the human ranch, and the cliff, as he could from now on.


	6. Chapter 6

**Found by Cruxis**

The brown haired teen walked slowly across the wooden bridge that led to his adoptive father's house. Flowers and plants of all varieties surrounded the house, creating a serene atmosphere and added to the beauty of the secluded place. Directly beside the house was a small wooden pen made especially for Noishe- wasn't he a lucky dog?

Lloyd stopped outside the house and looked to the floor, suddenly remembering what he had seen in his mind after he and Genis had descended the cliff.

The brown haired woman and the auburn haired man that he had seen- they seemed so familiar... he was sure he had seen them somewhere- but where?

And the toddler- who could that have been? Was there a significance to the vision?

The question plaguing Lloyd's mind was where had he seen those people before? And the blonde angel, who was that?

Lloyd shook the thoughts from his head, once again, as he walked to the door. It was getting dark now, time for him to go in.

He opened the door and walked into the small wooden house, the familiar comforting sight of the room and his father greeting his eyes.

A wooden table stood in the far right corner of the room, several chairs surrounding it. Dirk was stood over a black oven, making something for some job or the other as usual.

"Welcome back, son." Dirk looked over his shoulder to Lloyd.

"Hi dad...d'you think you could make me a key crest?"

"Why d'you need a key crest all of a sudden?" Dirk turned and eyed his son suspiciously.

"Uhh…well, I met someone that had an exsphere without a keycrest…"

After arguing for a while about what had happened, Dirk gave Lloyd some rather...shocking news.

"…Yer mother and father died protecting yah from the Desians."

"What?" Lloyd was shocked. He had always thought his parents had died in an accident of some sort.

"There was a man-'e had long blonde hair, and was wearin' a white suit o' some sort. He brought yah 'ere, sayin' 'e found yah in the forest, with two bodies. Thought they must've been your parents. He was going to bring the bodies back 'ere, but when he got back, they were gone. Or so 'e said."

"…How d'you know the Desians killed them…?" Lloyd's voice was barely a whisper.

"'E said that when he found you, he could hear the Desians, and see 'em up on the cliff, so naturally, he just assumed it was them."

Lloyd's fists angrily clenched around the hilts of his swords. "Damn those Desians! They'll pay for what they've done! I swear!"

"Lloyd, I know you want to get revenge for yer mother and father, but the Desians are dangerous. Don't go back to the ranch."

Lloyd sighed, trying to get his mind off the death of his parents. "So, will you make me that keycrest…?"

"…Have you been listening at all? You're not going back there! Your parents died protecting you from them! Don't let their sacrifices mean nothing!" Dirk walked quickly up to Lloyd, and the teen moved back warily.

"Yeah, I heard you. But you can't expect me not to do anything, now I know! Argh! You don't have to hit me!" Lloyd yelled as his father brought his large hand down upon his face, leaving a red mark. As soon as he did, Lloyd turned and ran out of the house; tears welled up in his eyes, after hearing about his parents.

He stood outside for a moment, gazing up at the stars, one hand reaching up to rub his marked cheek, before realising that a group of people were standing outside the house, staring at him.

"Oh, I'm guessing you guys heard all that just now?" Lloyd looked around at the group. Genis, looking very sorry, Raine showed disappointment and pity, Kratos, whose face also showed slight pity, but also something more, something...deeper. Anna stared at Lloyd, but he couldn't work out what she was feeling. Colette looked very sorry, as ever.

"Lloyd, I'm really sorry! This is my fault entirely…" he apologised as he ran up to Lloyd.

"No, Genis. Don't worry about it." He smiled reassuringly at his best friend.

"…I told them about what happened earlier, y'know, when we came down the cliff, and you sorta…went blank." Genis twitched his feet about nervouslyw, kicking up dirt from the ground.

"What? Genis! I probably only hit my head-"

"Is there a bump there, to prove it?"

"…" Lloyd was quiet, as he knew there was no bump. He was pretty sure now, for some reason, that he hadn't bumped his head on anything. But, not wanting anyone to worry, stuck with the story of hitting his head.

His mind slowly drifted back to the scenes he had witnessed in his mind. He had no idea who the people were-when he saw the couple he couldn't see their faces, they were blurry, the whole scene was blurry. He could still make out some features, but not enough to determine who they were- but…the angel! He looked exactly like Dirk had described him! Long, blonde hair, wearing a white outfit! That must've been the man that found him! But then, the toddler…that must've been him…? But Dirk's story didn't fit with the scene he had glimpsed in his mind…were those two people his parents? Had they asked this angel to take him to Dirk's house before they died? _Did _they die? This was confusing him now, big time.

"-oyd? Wake up!" Genis shouted at the teen, who had been so absorbed in his thoughts, that he hadn't heard Genis talking to him.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something…" He drifted off, going back to his thoughts.

"You? Thinking? Oh, that's never a very good sign!" Genis sighed, and laughed at the scowl on Lloyd's face.

"Lloyd…go and speak to Colette." Raine spoke up. Lloyd glanced at her and then looked over to Colette.

"Wait just a minute, okay Colette?" Lloyd smiled at her.

"Sure! I'll go wait over there." She walked over to the bench beside Noishe's pen, and sat down, staring up at the star filled sky. She seemed troubled, but Lloyd decided he would talk to her in a while. He wanted to talk to everyone else before speaking to Colette. He knew the group would leave after he talked to the young Chosen.

As Genis and his elder sister were immersed in one of their many intelligent, yet boring for everyone else, conversations, Lloyd decided to approach Anna and Kratos who stood to the left of the house.

Anna saw the boy coming and immediately spoke. "Lloyd, I'm really sorry to hear about your parents, I didn't know it was the Desians fault..." She glanced over at Kratos. He was giving Lloyd a pitying look again.

"Yeah, the Desians seem to be responsible for everything, don't they? I mean, you said they took your son didn't you? I guess they enjoy separating families and causing pain and misery." He turned his head away, tears once again threatening to spill from his eyes.

"…Yes, the Desians are cruel people. I'm sorry about your family, Lloyd." Kratos continued to stare at him sadly.

"I have Dirk, so it's not that bad, I guess. But I just wish I knew my parents more than I did. I don't even remember them." He could hold back the tears just a bit longer.

"Lloyd? What happened earlier, when you jumped from the cliff?" Anna asked out of pure curiosity.

"Hmm? You mean when I blanked out?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I sorta just saw something, in my mind."

"Saw what?" Kratos asked, also genuinely interested.

"Well, I could see a toddler falling from a cliff, along with a woman and Noishe, my dog, and I also saw the same woman in the middle of the forest- there was a man standing by her too. Oh, and there was this other man standing, well, floating, in front of them- he had wings and really girly blonde hair, and he was holding the toddler behind his back. Then the woman put something in the child's pocket after the angel showed them the toddler, I think it was an exsphere... and I think the toddler was me..." Lloyd stopped for a minute to catch his breath. "Then the angel took the toddler somewhere, and it all went black- I couldn't hear anything though, nobody spoke..."

Lloyd opened his eyes after recalling what he had seen to the two, and turned his gaze on them. Anna was staring at him, her mouth slightly open, Kratos was looking pure astonished.

"What?" Lloyd looked at them confused. The two stopped staring at him, instead choosing to stare at each other.

"Oh, Nothing," Anna managed to say.

"It is just unusual…could you recognise any of the people?" Kratos asked, trying desperately to keep his voice calm.

"No, the scene was a bit blurry, so it was hard to see. I could only make out the colours of peoples hair, and clothes."

"…" Neither of the two spoke, so Lloyd decided it was best to leave them alone for now.

"I…I'm going to go see Colette now. Um, see you guys later, okay?"

They nodded silently, as Lloyd walked over and began talking to Colette.

"How did he see…?" Anna asked, as she turned to face her husband.

"…I'm not entirely sure, but it may be because he descended the cliff, which might have brought back memories of…that day."

Anna started to weep silently, leaning in to Kratos to rest her head on his chest. His arms wrapped around her slender figure and held her to him tightly, as they both let their minds wander back to that day fourteen years ago. Both were thankful that the 'vision' Lloyd had seen had been blurry. Otherwise, he would've figured out that it was they who were the couple in the scene, and surely, that wouldn't be good for anyone.

After Lloyd and Colette had finished talking and gazing up at the night sky from the balcony of the house, the group decided that it was time to take their leave.

The group minus Lloyd stood at the bridge and waved back at their friend. Well, everyone except for Kratos that is. The stoic man stood at the back of the group with his wife. As Raine, Genis and Colette left, Anna waved at the teen who was stood out on the balcony still. Kratos whispered, "Goodbye," just loud enough for Lloyd to hear him, before following suit and leaving the quaint house.

After a while of gazing at the stars, Lloyd decided that he would sleep out on the terrace that night. He wanted to look at the stars some more, and he had to think about what he saw in his mind earlier that day- besides, he always thought better out in the cool night air. He lay down and soon enough, he had drifted off to sleep, dreaming about the life he used to have when he travelled the world with his parents, experiencing the joys of having a family.

* * *

**So what do we think? R&R XD**


	7. Chapter 7

**Found by Cruxis**

The sun glared down upon the dying land of Sylvarant. Birds flew freely in the clear skies, carrying on with their daily work, singing while they did so. Their songs carried on the gentle morning breeze, and this is what Lloyd had awoken to this morning.

"Ugh…" The brown haired teen rolled over onto his stomach in a vain attempt to keep the glaring light out of his eyes. Feeling the hard wooden floor of the terrace beneath him, his eyes immediately widened in surprise and confusion, before remembering that he had decided to sleep outside the previous night, under the protection of the stars.

He rolled over again onto his back and stood up, slowly rubbing his tired eyes.

Stumbling downstairs, he found his breakfast sitting on the table, just waiting for him to eat it.

He sat down at the small table and quickly consumed his food, although nearly half of it was dropped underneath the table, _accidentally_ of course_, _for Noishe to eat if he came inside later.

Lloyd glanced up at the ticking clock on the wall above the door, and saw that he was later rising than usual. It was nearly noon already.

'Better get some stuff to bring along with us on Colette's journey', he thought to himself as he rose from his chair. Looking around the little room and seeing that Dirk was still nowhere to be seen, he headed out of the door.

His adoptive father was standing by Noishe's pen, petting the green and white spotted dog absentmindedly on his furry head, every so often tugging on his ears slightly. For what reason? Nobody knows- maybe it was a Dwarven vow- **'Dwarven vow #111- Always tug a dogs ears when you can'**... Anyway... he was lost deep in his thoughts, or so it appeared.

When Lloyd slammed the door shut Dirk's head shot up to look at him, breaking the trail of thoughts that mesmerized the dwarf.

"Oh, Lloyd…" He began. Lloyd thought he could detect a hint of sadness in his voice, so thought he best apologise before he felt really guilty. After all, the dwarf was only thinking of his safety.

"Look, dad. I'm sorry about yesterday. I really am."

Dirk sighed. "Na, I should be the one apologizing. I can't stop yah from doing what yah want to. Yer've grown up, son. I should have known yah would have wanted to go with Colette anyway." He looked back at the 'dog', whose tongue was lolling out and continued petting him.

Lloyd looked more than surprised. The last thing he was expecting from his tough, dwarven father was an apology.

He opened his mouth to say something, but just as he did…

"Lloyd! Where were you?" Genis ran up to Lloyd. He stopped before the teen, panting heavily, trying to regain his breath.

"Oh, Genis! I've decided to go with Colette, and –" Lloyd started excitedly, but was interrupted by the younger boy.

"That's why I came! They left earlier this morning! I thought you would've come to say goodbye!"

"What?" Lloyd was even more astonished than he had been a few minutes ago, if that was even possible. "She told me she was leaving at noon!"

"Go now, both o' ye," Dirk interrupted, "and here, take this."

He handed Lloyd a bag full of supplies. "I figured yer'd want'ta go, so I made yah that key crest yah asked for."

"Wha? Oh, thanks dad!" Lloyd grinned at the dwarf.

"Hmph. Dwarven vow #2- Never abandon someone in need." Dirk grunted.

Lloyd nodded happily and turned to the small half elven boy standing behind him.

"Let's go! C'mon Genis!" He whistled and Noishe came bounding out of his pen as Dirk opened the gate.

The brown haired teen sat upon Noishe's soft back and held on tight, as he gestured for Genis to do the same. "Get on!"

Once Genis was atop Noishe, Lloyd whistled again and the dog set off through the dense forest to Iselia.

They reached the entrance to the village of oracles and sprinted swiftly though the village to Colette's house.

Once there, they knocked on the door and entered. Frank and Phaidra sat conversing at the large table in the centre of the room where the meeting had previously taken place the night before.

"Lloyd! Genis!" Phaidra started, as they shut the door behind them.

"Where's Colette?" Lloyd shouted forcefully.

"…She's already gone. But she left this for you." Frank picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table before him and handed it to Lloyd to read.

"A letter…?" Genis said.

The two read the Chosen's letter, and after discussing what to do they exited the house, only to be greeted by a not so pleasant, or expected sight. The houses if the village were being consumed by large, roaring flames, the villagers scattering in a panic.

After extinguishing some of the flames and helping some of the villagers, the two boys ran to the village plaza, only to be forced to take on several Desians.

"Fireball!"

"Sonic Thrust!"

The pair finished off a load of Desians, but they were not relieved at that. In front of them were four or five Desians and one other man. He had turquoise colour hair and a gun for an arm. He stood at the front of the Desians, facing the villagers.

"Lloyd Irving." His voice rang out clearly around the small group of villagers huddled together, "Step forward."

Lloyd stood before the people of the village defensively. "Who are you? What do you want with me?" He was angry, bent on getting revenge for his parents.

So, after Lloyd and Genis kicked some more Desian ass, found out that Marble was the monster that they were fighting, Forcystus declared that they would always be after Lloyd as long as he had his exsphere, and then the mayor went on to exile both Genis and Lloyd.

"Surely mayor, you don't have to be so hard on a child?" A woman from the village said.

"This was all his fault in the first place! Countless lives were lost because of him! He doesn't even live in the village anyway!" A man standing near the mayor retorted, pointing a stubby finger at Lloyd, who stood still, looking intently at the burnt ground.

As this was said, the crowd of villagers parted to examine the state of the village, and to do what they could to restore it back to its former state.

Lloyd and Genis stood by the entrance to the village, shocked and dismayed, although Genis looked more angry than upset. The two began walking towards Frank and Phaidra, who were standing together gazing pitifully at the two.

"I'm sorry. I was only trying to help." Lloyd glanced at Genis.

"In that case, you should find Colette and protect her." Frank said.

"Yes, if that is how you truly feel, then please, protect the Chosen." Phaidra agreed.

Lloyd nodded and spoke, "I will. I'll find her and I swear, I will protect her."

The two nodded at Lloyd approvingly as he turned and walked out of the village, Genis by his side.


	8. Chapter 8

**Found by Cruxis**

Lloyd and Genis had exited the village, walking on in silence, each engrossed in their own thoughts. They were headed in the general direction of Triet, which was the closest town to Iselia. They figured Colette and the rest might be there. If not, they would travel to each town to ask around after the Chosen- if people there had not seen her, then they would move onto the next town. Hopefully this would work- it was the only way the boys could think of to find their friends.

The two were currently reminiscing about everything that had occurred during the last day or so, from when they were standing in the temple with Colette, Kratos and Anna, up until that very moment.

As they recalled all that had happened, Lloyd remembered once again about the brief vision he had witnessed after visiting the ranch. He still had no idea who anyone was, except for the toddler and the dwarf, who were obviously himself and Dirk.

His mind wandered from that subject yet again, as he tripped and fell face first in the sand. Genis rolled his eyes at his friend's clumsiness, and carried on traipsing through the empty desert. Lloyd picked himself up and spat out some sand, quickly walking over to Genis who was not that far ahead.

"Aww man," Lloyd began to complain for the first time since they entered the sandy plains. "It's boiling here!" His head fell forwards onto his chest as he sighed, exhausted.

"Ughhh…what do you expect, Lloyd? We're in the middle of the desert!" Genis snapped, his patience wearing thin with his particularly annoying friend.

"Hmph." The two carried on walking in silence for a short while. Not long after, Lloyd looked up from the sand beneath his feet and stared ahead, eyes squinting shut due to the bright light of the sun.

"Genis, look!" He shouted. He forgot about his fatigue and ran to the town of Triet, the Desert Oasis.

He stopped, panting, outside of the town, and turned back to Genis. Seeing that he was a fair way behind him, Lloyd thought for a moment, and then whistled for Noishe to come.

Almost immediately, a green and white blur came speeding towards him, nearly knocking Genis off his feet as he raced past the boy.

Noishe collided with Lloyd, knocking him onto the sandy ground as the dog licked his face in content.

"Oh, get off Noishe!" Lloyd pushed the dog off of him and stood up, dusting himself off. "Right. Go and get Genis and bring him here quickly." He ordered his companion.

Noishe sped off towards Genis and ran back to Lloyd when the small boy was on, stopping before he knocked his owner over.

"Okay. Let's go!" Lloyd said.

The two walked into the town, lead by Noishe. He trotted over to the pen that had been built for dogs and other animals, and sat down in the shade under the roof of the pen, sheltering from the heat of the sun.

"Quick!" Lloyd grabbed Genis' arm and pulled him into the pen where Noishe rested, ducking down to crouch by the animal.

"What was that for?" Genis spat.

"Desians!" He whispered back.

They kept quiet as the pair of Desians walked away from a notice board, straight past the pen and out of the sandy town.

The two boys had been holding their breaths in anticipation, hoping that the Desians wouldn't see them. They didn't want another accident to occur like in Iselia.

They slowly crept out of the pen, just in case the Desians were still hanging around, but there were none in sight. The two teens walked over to the notice board where the Desians had been standing just moments before.

Lloyd stood in front of it, staring at a crappy poster of...himself?

'WANTED- LLOYD IRVING. IF SIGHTED, CONTACT THE NEAREST HUMAN RANCH.'

Lloyd's mouth fell open in a mixture of shock and embarrassment. When Genis looked up at the poster, Lloyd's cheeks flared red like tomatoes, the very food he hated.

Genis spotted the poster and immediately burst into uncontrollable laughter at the drawing of Lloyd, doubling over in a laughing fit.

Lloyd scowled, "I…Is that supposed to be…me…? It doesn't look anything like me…!" He said meekly, pushing his hand over Genis' mouth to stop him laughing so much, as the pair were attracting attention from the people of the town. He didn't need any more people laughing at the inaccurate portrait of himself- it was embarrassing enough as it was.

Genis shoved Lloyd's hand away and stopped laughing for a bit, "I think it's very…accurate!" He joked, as Lloyd scowled again.

"C'mon," he growled, "let's go rest." He slowly began walking down the steps to his right and into the town's inn. Genis followed, chuckling as quietly as possible to himself.

That night, the two decided that they ought to stay the night at the inn. Seeing as Genis was fast asleep, Lloyd silently pushed open the door and crept out of the inn. He walked over to Noishe who was still in his pen, fast asleep.

As he petted his loyal companion and friend, he gazed up at the stars. They were like millions of shimmering lights that forever lay on a bed of velvet, disappearing when the sun rose, yet returning in the night for the world to marvel at. They were breathtakingly beautiful.

As the boy gazed on, two figures enshrouded in shadow, approached the unsuspecting teen from behind. Before Lloyd even knew what was happening, a flickering ball of electricity had flown straight into him, knocking him unconscious, his limp body dropping with a thud onto the cool sand. Noishe, who was now awake, growled threateningly at the figures. The next instant though, the dog was just an unconscious lump of fur on the floor.

The unnamed figures stepped forwards out of the shadows. The moons silvery beams illuminated their bodies, making it apparent that they were Desians- at least, that's what they looked like anyway.

"Lord Yuan will be pleased." One mumbled to the other, as he picked up Lloyd's motionless body and slung him over his shoulder.

The other nodded in response, and they walked out of the city, taking Lloyd with them.

Genis opened his eyes and rubbed them after a good night's sleep. He looked over to Lloyd's bed, but found that it was empty to his surprise.

He threw the covers off and leapt out of bed, calling Lloyd's name, but there was no response. He ran out of the door and straight out of the inn.

He walked quickly over to the pen where Noishe had resided the night before, and found him lying on the ground in a state of unconsciousness rather than sleep.

The small, silver haired boy bent down and placed both hands on the animal's body.

"Noishe!" He called urgently, shaking the dog as he panicked.

He stirred slightly, eyes opening and staring directly into Genis' pale blue orbs.

"Whine!" Noishe stood up abruptly, his large doggy eyes filling with alarm as he quickly shook his head side to side, looking for something.

"Noishe! What happened? Where's Lloyd?" Genis exclaimed.

"Whine!" The animal sniffed the ground and bounded out of the small city, leaving Genis behind.

"Noishe? Wait!" Genis shouted, attracting a few unwanted stares from passers-by. He looked on, but the dog was nearly out of viewing range.

"NOISHE! I CAN'T HELP YOU FIND LLOYD UNLESS YOU GET YOUR DOGGY BUTT BACK HERE!" Genis cupped his hands around either side of his mouth and shouted as loudly as he could. Albeit, this attracted a large amount of disturbed stares, but in the distance, the half elf could see a blur speeding back towards him.

Genis sidestepped swiftly as the dog bounded straight past where he was just stood, then ran up to Genis panting.

"Alright, let's go find Lloyd!" The boy clambered atop the dog and held on for dear life as Noishe ran as if his life depended on it.

* * *

**That felt as if it took ages to do :( Review! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Found by Cruxis**

"Whoa, what is that?" The young half elf and the dog were lost- the only thing they knew was that they were lost in the middle of the desert. Also, that it was unbearably hot and stifling. This made neither the dog nor half elf in a great mood, along with the fact that they had not found Lloyd yet. The day was not going well.

The pair skidded to a halt outside of an enormous, hi-tech looking place. Unfortunately, two guards were standing watch, which lead to Genis being spotted.

"Hey!" The guards approached Genis as Noishe scuttled off around a corner. "What do you think you're doing here!"

"Uh...I didn't mean to come here, I'm lost!" Genis began wailing uncontrollably, tears pouring down his face. The guards exchanged glances.

"Alright, as a fellow kinsman, we'll let you go. Now get out of here!"

Genis immediately stopped crying.

"Thanks mister! I won't forget this!" The boy then turned and ran, Noishe following.

The dog ran alongside Genis and yapped for him to get on. Once he did, Noishe ran in one straight line, kicking up masses of sand along the way.

"Look!" Genis exclaimed to the dog. In the distance he could see a town, which must've been Triet- they must have just run back the way they came- what a waste of time!

'Well, at least we know where Lloyd might be now...' Genis thought to himself as Noishe turned up the speed.

Several minutes later, the panting dog bounded up to what they earlier thought was Triet, but now it was clear that it was not. The place was in ruins, broken pillars strewn across the ground, debris littered everywhere and sand blew around in the wind, partially clouding the boy's sight.

Amongst the debris and the pillars stood a group of people standing, talking. The one with short silver tresses was stood at the back, staff in hand.

"Sis!" Genis shouted and ran up to the group.

The startled bunch of people turned in shock. Evidently, they were not expecting company.

"Genis! What are you doing here? I told you to stay home!" Raine began to shout at her little brother, preparing to hurt him for disobeying her.

Genis quickly stepped out of harm's way and went on to explain to the intently listening group what had happened in Iselia- about himself and Lloyd being exiled, then continued to tell them about their decision to follow Colette, and how they made it as far as Triet when Colette interrupted Genis' long speech.

"Wait-! If both you AND Lloyd were in Triet, then where...?" She trailed off at the boys understanding nod.

"Well, you see..." The group leaned in, waiting for an answer off the young genius. "...I don't actually know."

"What?" Everybody simultaneously spoke.

"What do you mean you don't know where he is?" Anna shouted, frantic with worry. Unknown to anyone but herself, Kratos and Noishe, it was HER SON that was lost somewhere out in the desert. That was not going to slide.

The Iselia team gave the woman strange looks, not understand why she was so worried about the teen. Only Raine chose to voice the question.

"Why is this matter of so much concern to you Anna?" The professors eyes were like that of a snake; slit- like and suspicious.

"Because he's my-" A swift nudge in the side from Kratos stopped the emotional woman from giving away unnecessary information that would lead to a hell of a lot of hassle.

Anna stopped. Seeing the other three staring at her questioningly about what she was saying was not helping.

"...He's your what, Mrs Anna?" Colette innocently asked.

"Uhh...he's my friend! I, uh, feel quite close to him now! We talked a lot and we have so much in common! It's...understandable...?" The brunette stopped once again, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand as she gazed around sheepishly at the trio.

"...If you don't mind me saying, if we don't know where Lloyd is at all, wouldn't it be wise to look for him? Now?" Kratos spoke, always the voice of reason. He could feel his wife's body relax next to him as she sighed in relief at not getting caught out. He turned to chastise her, but figured that it could wait until they got going, so decided against it.

"So, if we don't know where Lloyd is, where do we start?" The Chosen spoke up, desperately worried about her friend.

Genis, being the one that was with Lloyd last, decided he better tell the group the rest of the story. "Well...please don't murder me for saying this, but I think... I think Lloyd was taken by the Desians-"

"WHAT?" Anna and Colette cried together. The older woman continued. "HOW COULD YOU LET THAT HAPPEN TO HIM?"

The group flinched as Anna continued to yell. She saw that Raine was once again looking at her in a distrusting way, so tried to be a bit more calm and civilised. "That's a very irresponsible thing for you to do, ooh WHAT KIND OF FRIEND ARE YOU?" Apparently, she couldn't keep it calm, so decided to keep it loud instead. Kratos held her back before she charged over to Genis to ... give him another piece of her mind.

Raine turned to her brother again. "...Genis, what did you mean you _think_ that Lloyd was taken by Desians? How can you not be sure?" Her weary eyes were once again calculating.

"Well, I didn't actually see him get captured," the others now turned back to the boy, "but when I woke up in the morning, he wasn't in his bed! I looked all around the town but there was no sign of him, so me and Noishe headed out of town and eventually found some weird place- it didn't look like a ranch, but there were Desians outside standing guard...!" The boy stopped, needing to catch his breath again.

As the Professor insisted that Genis and Noishe lead the way to where they saw the 'Desians', Ana whispered something to her husband. "Renegades...but why would they need...?"

Kratos shook his head, indicating that he had no idea why the renegades wanted their son either, but one thing he was sure of was that there was going to be all hell to pay when they found out.

As the group moved out, Raine left Colette and Genis in front, conversing about what had happened with each of them and going into more detail about what happened with Lloyd, as Noishe lead the way to the Renegade Base. The Professor slunk to the back, approaching the mysterious couple.

"So, Anna...why is it that you are so concerned about Lloyd? Why does he mean so much to you?"

* * *

**With that, we leave it! For now anyways! Firstly, I am SO sorry I took this long to update, but I finally got off my lazy ass and did something, so I hope it's alright! Secondly, I really will update sooner this time! Honest! Review please :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Found by Cruxis**

"So, Anna...why is it that you are so concerned about Lloyd? Why does he mean so much to you?" The half-elven professor voiced her query to the startled woman. The group were just over halfway to the isolated Renegade base. As they ventured further, more and more sand was picked up from the desert floor and thrown into the air around them. A sandstorm was brewing.

The brunette woman glanced nervously at her stoic husband before looking back towards Raine, alarm flashing in her eyes.

"I...uh...I just care about him a lot 'cause he's, uhh a really nice kid...?" She stuttered as a rosy blush crept onto her face.

Raine's eyes narrowed sceptically. "I don't believe that that's all there is to it. Let's try this again, why are you so concerned about him?"

"I..." Anna looked to the ground, suddenly finding her feet extremely interesting. "...He just reminds me of a son we just had. We lost our son many years ago..." She trailed off, sadness washing over her whole being.

"Ah...I see. Thank you." The silver haired woman walked off in silence, seeking companionship with her younger brother and the fledgling chosen.

As soon as she was gone, Anna squeezed Kratos' hand apologetically. "I'm sorry, I nearly gave us away..." She looked down as her brown hair fell gently over her shoulders, hiding the sad look on her face.

Kratos squeezed her hand back reassuringly. "...Do not worry, just be more careful next time. Try not to let your emotions take over."

"We will tell him eventually though, right?" She peeked out nervously from the curtain of hair.

"...Eventually, yes." Kratos answered as the others came to a halt.

The couple stopped, giving confused looks to their companions as they turned to face them.

"Why are we stopping?" Anna asked.

"There is a sandstorm coming, it's not too bad now, but it's getting worse as we speak. If we stay out in this and get lost in the desert, we will be of no use to Lloyd. I suggest we stop for a while, there's a large outcropping of rocks over there. We can take shelter there." The half- elven woman glanced at the others, daring them to go against her.

"But what about Lloyd?" Anna, Genis and Colette apparently had similar thought patterns as they all spoke in unison.

Kratos thought momentarily. "As Raine said, we will be of no use to Lloyd lost in the desert. I agree that our best bet would be to rest here until the storm blows over."

The others agreed sombrely and made their way towards the outcrop of rocks, praying that Lloyd could last a bit longer without them.

"Please, be safe Lloyd..." His mother's whisper was lost in the winds.

* * *

"Ugh...where am I?" Lloyd held both of his hands to his head. He had a major headache.

"Where am I...?" Lloyd wondered aloud. Glancing around the room, he could see that he was infact in what looked like a cell. He was laying on a cold, wooden bench- the only thing in the room bar him. Through the bars that covered the front of the cell, the disoriented teen could see a renegade pacing back and forth, in his hand was the key to the cell.

'I gotta get out of here. Maybe I can get that key?' He thought, placing his feet silently on the floor and standing up slowly.

He crept to the bars. Crouching down, he waited until the guard walked past, aimed the sorcerer's ring, his only weapon, and shot. The renegade doubled over and fell to the ground with a grunt.

"Nearly got it...!" Lloyd pushed his arm through the cell bars and stretched his arm out as far as he could, grabbing for the key that was in the unconscious guards possession.

"Yes!" He wrapped his hand around the key and scrambled hurriedly to his feet, twisting his arm to get the key in the lock.

As he heard the click of the lock, the door swung open and the teen ran out, jumping over the guard's body.

He made his was as swiftly as he could through the maze-like base, stopping only once to pick up his weapons that were hidden away in a chest.

The brunette raced through a door and skidded to a halt, panting as he doubled over to rest his hands on his knees.

"Who are you?" Lloyd stood up straight as he realised that he was not alone. His hands went straight to his sides, resting his hands on the hilts of his swords, ready for a fight.

A blue haired man stood before him, arms folded across his chest, black cape billowing out behind him.

"Give me your name and I'll give you mine!" Lloyd delivered his famous line.

"...Ah I see, you're Lloyd, aren't you? I see the resemblance..."

"Huh? Resemblance? To who?" Lloyd backed out of his battle stance, a confused look appearing on his face.

"Your father of course, who d'you think you resemble, Santa?"

"...I'm gonna pretend I know who that is..." the moment of randomness ended as Lloyd continued. "But how d'you know my father?"

The bluenette turned his back on the teen, cape swishing around him as he made his way to his desk. He sat down before answering the brunette's question.

"I used to be friends with you father...briefly your mother too." His eyes closed, lost in memories of a distant past.

"My mom? Are my parents alive- are they okay?" Excitement showed in Lloyd's body language and speech, elated that he might finally get to find out more about his mysterious parents.

"They are okay, and they're close than you think." Cape man stood up, eyes snapping open and glaring at the teen. "But unless you give me that exsphere you'll never get to meet them!"

He charged at the boy unexpectedly, knocking him clean off his feet so he landed on the marble floor with a loud thump. The next instant, the bluenette's sword was at his throat.

"What? Why d'you want my exsphere? You're not getting it- this belonged to my mom or dad!" Lloyd shouted defensively at the cape wearer.

"It belonged to your mother. It's an extremely special exsphere and I will have it, no matter what the cost!" He raised his sword up and prepared to strike as Lloyd began to speak again.

"And I'll protect it, no matter what the cost!" The teen swiftly rolled sideways, standing up and unsheathing his swords.

The bluenette charged. The two were locked in battle, neither one giving in, until the older man got through Lloyd's defences.

"Ugh-!" He crumpled to the floor, clutching the slash in his side desperately. Masses of blood flowed out from the wound, leading to Lloyd feeling extremely dizzy, head spinning.

He stood up slowly and staggered backwards until he felt the cold wall of the room up against his back. He held his swords up futilely in a last attempt to defend himself from the approaching renegade leader. His swords connected with his enemy's before clattering noisily to the ground as they were knocked out from his hands.

The man swung his weapon around impressively, almost effortlessly. "Ready to hand it over yet boy?" He advanced slowly towards Lloyd, letting the boy answer before he struck.

"No...and I never will be!" The hand that wasn't clutching his wound immediately made its way to his exsphere, gripping it tightly.

"...So be it. Then prepare to die!"

The last thing Lloyd saw was a man he recognised from somewhere rushing into the room, followed by his friends. Too weak to comprehend this, he gave into the darkness that overcame him as he saw a weapon being pulled from his stomach, dripping with his blood.

His limp body hit the floor.

* * *

"Come on, we have to hurry! Lloyd could be in serious trouble by now!" Anna yelled at the group to go faster and keep up with the protozoan that led the way.

After waiting a few hours, the sandstorm had died down, letting the group get on with the task of rescuing Lloyd from the base. They had been following Noishe for half an hour or so before being yelled at by Genis and then Anna to get a move on or Lloyd would be in big trouble.

"Look! Is that it?" The blonde chosen exclaimed as she pointed towards an out of place, high tech building. Noishe started whining, running faster towards the mentioned location.

"Yeah! That's it, c'mon!" Genis shouted and motioned to the group to follow him to the base.

Arriving shortly, they knocked out a few guards on the way before running into Botta, the 'desian' from the Martel temple.

"You again! Do not interfere in our plans!"

"We don't have time for this, where is Lloyd?" The small half elf raised his fist in fury at the man.

There was no reply as he ran off, leaving the group to deal with a couple of underlings. They quickly defeated the two and continued on after Botta.

"C'mon! We need to follow him. He went through that door. " Anna shouted at the group who immediately picked up the pace.

Following through the door after Botta, they emerged into a new room.

Blood decorated the floor as they heard a grunt and a body fell to the ground.

"Oh my-!" Colette started, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Lloyd!" The startled parents shouted as they watched the scene unfold before them.

"Yuan!" Kratos shouted at the bluenette.

He swivelled quickly to see the intruders. "You two! Botta, take care of them!" He walked quickly to the door then tuned, glancing at Lloyd. "We'll get him later. If he lives, that is." He then paced swiftly out of the room as the fight between Botta and the worried group began.

* * *

**Well, that's chapter 10 which I never thought I'd get around to! Hardly did either, no reviews for the last chapter? :'( made me sad :(**

**Anyways, hope that was okay! Review and I'll be motivated to write more ^_^**


	11. Chapter 11

**Found by Cruxis**

"Fireball!"

"Sonic Thrust!"

"Ray Thrust!"

The enraged trio sent their attacks flying towards Botta in unison, hitting him left right and centre, making him crumple to the ground in agony as his knees gave out beneath him.

Kratos charged forwards and encircled the man as he struggled in a vain attempt to stand and fight again, all the while being questioned about Yuan and his motives by the growing ball of anger which was the mercenary. Still, he did not give in and Kratos' questions were left unanswered, drifting in the tense atmosphere that surrounded the group.

"Genis! Now!" Kratos signalled as Genis released a spell that he had been charging up.

"Aqua edge!"

"Demon Fang!"

There was a resonating thud as the renegade fell to the crimson stained floor, thoroughly soaked and defeated for the time being.

"Lloyd!" As this was going on, Anna and Raine had immediately rushed over to the unconscious teen, treating his wounds as best they could. Both women felt that their attention was needed more here than in battle.

The sound of Colette's light footfalls approached the two as Kratos and Genis were heard calling out their attacks. The Chosen knelt down beside her dear friend, tears forming in her eyes once again as she looked down upon Lloyd. The magic user and mercenary then strode steadily towards the huddle, worry clear on their faces. Well on one of their faces, anyway. Kratos' ever calm facade masked the turmoil going on inside of him.

"Lloyd! How is he?" The half elf boy's eyes scrunched at the side in pain upon seein his best friend in the state that he was.

His sister shook her head in response, not daring to voice a solid answer yet. "We must get him out of here before we run into anymore inteference." Kratos said, glancing at the man on the floor. "Quickly."

The group nodded and swiftly exited the Renegade base, Lloyd being carried gently by Kratos, who was probably the only one strong enough for the task.

They made their way outside, luckily encountering no soldiers on the way. Once outside, they were greeted by an over excited Noishe, who ran up to Anna, whining and glancing at Lloyd.

"Kratos, why don't you let Noishe take him?" Anna said to her husband somberly. Auburn hair moved with the desert winds as he nodded, placing the injured teen carefully on his old friend's back.

"We should hurry on to Triet. We can treat him further there and can all rest properly for the night. But right now we should proceed with haste. Night will fall soon." The professor told the group exactly what to do and they got going, through the sea of sand and soon enough reached the desert oasis town if Triet.

"Thank you Noishe. We will take care of him from here." Kratos spoke to the protozoan as he gently lifted the boy off of his soft fur seat.

"C'mon, let's get him inside quickly." Anna had been unusually quiet since being at the renegade base, only ocasionally voicing a thought to Kratos or one of the others. She grabbed his hand and lead him into the Inn where the rest of the group stood waiting.

"We have a slight problem, they have only three rooms left. I have acquired them for us, but who will share with who?" The silver haired woman looked around at her companions questioningly.

"I'll share with you sis, Colette can have her own room 'cause she's the Chosen and all, and Kratos and Anna can have the last room... but Lloyd?" Genis trailed off, not knowing who Lloyd should share with.

"He can share with us. Don't worry, we'll take care of him." The brunette woman managed a small smile before continuing. "But can we please finish treating him now? I'm quite worried, he looks paler than he was..." Indeed, most of the colour had drained from the teens face. Only the minor wounds had been treated earlier.

"Let's take him into your room then." Raine said to Anna and Kratos as she headed up the wooden steps to the next floor of the Inn. The group traipsed after Raine, filing in through the door on the far right of the small landing.

Kratos laid Lloyd gently down on one of the two beds within the room and moved to stand at the side of the bed, Anna moving with him and lightly grasping his hand. Genis and Colette looked on at the wounded boy from the bottom of the bed.

The professor approached Lloyd and did a quick analysis. "We'll have to get his shirt off to assess the damage correctly. I have no idea how bad the wound is..." She said worriedly. "Kratos, could you? I don't think I'd feel comfortable taking my student's clothes off." She said seriously. There was a collective silence from the observers before Kratos complied and sliped Lloyd's shirt and red jacket off.

"Oh-!" Each of them gasped. Even Kratos was startled, his eyes, usually devoid of much emotion, showed grief.

Taking Lloyd's shirt off had revealed a rather large, bloody gaping hole through his stomach, though thankfully did not go all the way through. The blood was beginning to crust around the edges of the hole due to Raine's quick first aid earlier, but that did not really make the situation any better.

Tears were welling up in three of the groups eyes, Kratos and Raine the only ones having control over their emotions.

"Kratos, could you please give him some apple gels while I administer first aid?" Kratos nodded in agreement and went to retrieve the gels from a backpack that was placed on the floor. He quickly found them and put them in Lloyd's open mouth one at a time, coaxing the unconscious boy to swallow them.

As he finished, a warm green light radiated over the teen. The worried trio of Anna, Genis and Colette watched on, hoping their friend would feel better.

"Look!" The wound had gotten slightly smaller, but had not disappeared.

"...Anna, Genis, Colette? This is going to take a while. Go downstairs and get something to eat in the meantime. You're all looking weary."

"Okay, but please heal him!" Colette and Genis ran from the room. Anna lingered, too worried about her son to leave but too scared to stay and watch.

Kratos walked up to her and embraced her shaking figure. "He will be okay after a while. I will cast a stronger healing spell when Raine is busy or out of the room, don't worry." He whispered in her ear, making her shiver slightly. She pulled away and saw in his eyes that he was still worried about the boy, but was confident he would pull through.

She turned to leave when Kratos squeezed her shoulder in comfort, trying to reassure her again. She whisked around and kissed him lightly, her face warm and wet because of her crying. She parted from him and quickly left the room, Kratos returning immediately to his place by his son.

Anna closed the door behind her, heading down the stairs and into a small room. In the room there was a long wooden table with food placed on it for their dinner. Colette and Genis were sat at the table already, nibbling at the food.

Anna sat down next to Colette, infront of the warm fireplace, letting her back be heated by the flames.

"Hey guys." She said sadly. Colette turned to her and gave a small smile. "Hi Mrs Anna. You should eat something, you must be hungry!" The small Chosen was trying her best not to let her worry for her friend consume her.

"Yeah, I guess..." Anna reached out and picked up a piece of bread, slowly pulling off little pieces.

"Anna, are you okay? You've been really quiet since earlier, what's wrong?" Genis questioned from across the table, resting his hand on his head.

"Huh? Oh, I'm just worried about Lloyd, sorry guys."

"Why are you so worried though? You hardly even know him!" Genis exclaimed.

"I...he's just special to me, guys. I can't tell you why exactly now, but you'll find out eventually." Anna sighed as she let her head fall on her hands that were crossed on the table.

Colette and Genis glanced at each other, confused. "Okay then."

The next hour went slowly, Colette and Genis sat and chatted at the table while Anna dozed off, tired from the days stressful events. She awoke to Genis shaking her shoulder while Colette was trying to call her.

"Mrs Annaaaa?"

"Hmm? Uhh...what happened?" She rubbed her eyes wearily.

"Lloyd's up!" Genis shouted in her ear. "C'mon!" Anna scrambled to her feet as if she had been shocked. She followed the two up the stairs and into her and Kratos' room to find Lloyd sitting up in his bed, Kratos standing by the door and Raine still by his side.

"Lloyd!" The teen flinched as he was jumped at by the trio who flung themselves at him.

"Lloyd!"

"You're okay!"

"We were so worried!" They let go of him and stood back, looking at him happily.

"Hey guys. Sorry for worrying you." Lloyd smiled sheepishly, holding the back of his head with one arm.

"Right, it's late. If we want to even think about getting to the seal tomorrow everyone had best get to bed. Sleep now, chat tomorrow."

Genis and Colette followed the professor out of the room after saying their good nights to Lloyd, Kratos and Anna.

"How are you feeling?" Anna asked, sitting on the bottom of Lloyd's bed. Kratos drifted to the other side of the room, staring out of the window at the night sky.

"Ah, definitely better. Still aches though." Lloyd tentatively touched his stomach where bandages were wrapped around the remains of the wound.

"I'm not surprised. You're lucky though, but I'm...we're all so glad you're safe." Anna was uncharacteristially serious, troubled by her sons near death experience.

"Yeah, but I'll be fine!" Lloyd's cheeky grin made Anna smile. His strength was admirable.

Kratos walked over to the pair. "What did they want with you?" Kratos sat on his bed facing the two.

"My exsphere, he said he needed my exsphere..." Kratos and Anna exchanged a quick glance. "Dammnit! He didn't tell me about my parents!" Lloyd threw his fist angrily into the bed.

"What?" The couple asked together.

"He said that he was friends with my mom and dad, and that they're okay! Damn..."

There was a short silence. "...Get some sleep Lloyd. Don't worry, they won't touch you again." Anna ruffled his hair and got into her and Kratos' bed, her husband following suit.

"G'night guys."

"...Night Lloyd."

* * *

"-oyd. Lloyd?"

"Ughhh..." Lloyd grumbled, rolling over onto his stomach, hiding his head beneath the pillow.

"Lloyd c'mon!" His best friend pulled the pillow off of his head. "You feeling any better?"

"Hm? Yeah , much better!" He grinned his usual grin.

"That's great! Then get up, we gotta go! C'mon!"

"Aww, where's the sympathy?" Lloyd whined as he was dragged out of the room by the small half elf.

The rest of the group were standing outside impatiently when the two emerged from the Inn.

"It's about time. Honestly Lloyd." Raine said.

"Oh c'mon! Hello, nearly died yesterday! Does nobody care?" Cue Lloyd curling up in a ball pretending to cry.

One the ...'s were over with, the group walked out of Triet, Lloyd getting up quickly to follow after them.

"Nice guys, some friends you are." Lloyd grumbled once he caught up to the group.

Ignoring him, Genis asked, "Lloyd? How come they captured you then, what did they want?"

He turned to his best friend. "They were after my exsphere." The teen said angrily. "But he knows my parents. I have to get him to tell me about them." At this, Kratos and Anna stopped their conversation and started listening instead to Lloyd and Genis.

"What? Why would he know your parents?" Genis asked, startled.

"I don't know. But I'm gonna find out. He said they were alive...and closer than I thought? What the heck does that mean? Argh!" Lloyd shook his head in frustration.

"...Huh." Genis, being too clever for his own good glanced suspiciously at the couple walking infront of them, quietly forming his own theories in his mind. "So, If they are okay then why haven't they come to find you?"

Lloyd stopped in his tracks surprised. He hadn't thought of that. "Maybe...maybe they don't want me...maybe they faked their death so they could abandon me and no one would ask questions...maybe they really don't care..." Lloyd sunk into his thoughts, depressed that his parents were alive but did not want to know him.

At Lloyd's words, Anna and Kratos' hearts clenched in pain at hearing their son's thoughts.

"Lloyd...I'm sure thats not true..." Genis said sadly. Lloyd didn't respond, just shook his head.

The couple infront of them looked at each other sadly. "Oh, Lloyd... how wrong you are...my son."

* * *

**Okay, so that's chapter 11! Hope you enjoyed, and thanks to everyone that reviewed, favourited and pressed the little story alert button last time, much appreciated :) Chapter 12 should be up soon XD**

**Review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Found by Cruxis**

The sun was blazing high in the late afternoon sky as the exhausted group approached the Triet Ruins. Sweltering under the heat, they sighed with relief as they stopped, standing under some of the shade provided by the crumbling building.

"Is that the seal? It has my families crest on it". The fledgling chosen stood beside the ever stoic (and ever handsome ^_^) mercenary, looking towards a slab, the only part of the ruins that was, well, not in ruins.

A quick gasp was heard, followed by an orange and silver blur that shot past the onlookers, stopping and kneeling before the stone.

"Fascinating! This slab is clearly of a different composition than the surrounding stone…oh my! This is polycarbonate, developed during the Ancient War to defend against magic! Fantastic!" Raine practically purred as she rubbed her head against the stone, drooling all the while. It was a crazy professor's dream come true.

The group still stood behind, mouths open in shock as the silver haired woman entered ruin mode and continued her scientific rant that no one really wanted to listen to. Her little brother, Genis, sweat dropped, as the rest slowly turned to stare at him, slightly scared.

Anna was the first one to close her mouth and voice the question that they were all thinking. "What…the…hell…?" She turned back to look at the woman who was now worshipping the slab, throwing her hands in the air in praise. The brunette woman turned to face Genis, face paling.

"I tried so hard to hide it too". The small half elf shook his head in shame.

"Anyway…" Lloyd spoke up for the first time since they arrived at the ruins. "Right. What are we here for again?" He questioned.

The wind picked up, throwing sand in everyone's faces as Kratos answered. "We are here so that the Chosen can unlock the first seal." He turned to face the slab. "Chosen, the Oracle Stone is by the professor…if you dare approach her." He looked at Colette smirking.

"Uhm… okay." She walked over to the professor, and ignoring the woman who was now kissing the slab, placed her hand on the pedestal, revealing the entrance to the ruins.

"Wow, it worked!" The blonde girl bounced excitedly.

"Well duh, Colette you're the Chosen! Why wouldn't it open?" Genis asked.

"Huh, I'm not sure." The girl looked up, thinking.

"Colette, you dork!" Lloyd walked past and nudged her, chuckling. "C'mon guys. Lets go." He lead the group down the stone steps and into the ruin. The brunette teen had been quiet and contemplative since his talk with his best friend earlier that day about his parents. He was depressed at the thought that they had never wanted him.

As they worked their way through the ruins, fighting monsters and shooting things with the sorcerers ring, Lloyd kept to himself, not engaging in conversation unless prompted, and even then only a few words were said.

This unnatural behaviour that occurred did not go unnoticed by his mother, however. She turned her husband as the others tried to figure out how to get to the warp pad and the seal room. "Kratos, I'm worried about Lloyd. D'you think he hates us? He thinks we abandoned him cause we didn't want him…that's not true…" She trailed off, frowning.

"Anna, he does not know that he has any relation to us. Why would he hate us?" The auburn haired man slashed at an approaching fire monster as his wife continued talking. "When we tell him that we're the ones that abandoned him, Kratos, then he'll hate us!" She cried in despair at the man beside her.

"Look, when the time comes, we will explain to him our reasons for what we did. I am sure that he will understand. Right now, all we can do is comfort him. But wait until the seal has been unlocked."

"…Fine." Anna walked towards the rest of the group angrily, grumbling along the way. She was not a happy bunny.

"Mister Kratos, hurry, we've found the warp pad!" Colette turned and shouted to the mercenary as the professor, her brother, Lloyd and Anna continued on to the seal room, all consumed in their own thoughts.

Kratos nodded and followed the girl. This was one big mess that they were all involved in, and he had a feeling that it was only going to get more complicated as time went on. He swore at his former friend, Mithos, as he warped into the seal room. The blame for this one was on him, no one else.

As he walked to the group, Genis commented on the large amount of mana that was coming from the seal.

"Look out!" Kratos unsheathed his blade and raced to the front of the group as Ktugach and his little baby fiery friends materialised into the room, letting out a deep growl.

The group drew their weapons, moving to their positions. Lloyd and Colette began to attack upfront with, slashing at one of the small Ktugachlings, with not much effect.

Kratos skilfully attacked Ktugach with his years of learned technique and precision, Anna occasionally helping him out when not distracted by the other Ktugachling that Genis was focused on.

"Sonic Thrust!" The Ktugachling roared as it disappeared into nothing, where it would soon be joined by it's fiery friends.

Lloyd ran up to help Kratos with the main boss, and sent Colette to help Anna and Genis.

"Demon Fang!" Lloyd struck the fiend from behind as Kratos glanced at him and muttered his thanks.

Anna, Genis and Colette had just managed to defeat the last Ktugachling, so stood back as Raine healed them, watching as the two guys finished off the last boss.

"Let's do this! Cross Thrust!" The two charged from either side, stopping as the fire beast dropped to the floor and vanished.

"Phew." Lloyd mumbled tiredly, letting Raine heal him.

Colette approached the seal and prayed until a glowing orb descended from the ceiling. In a flash of light, Remiel appeared, floating angelically before the group, smirking like the bastard he was.

"Colette, you have done well my daughter." His eyes glinted with his deception. "The first seal has been released, Efreet will awaken soon. In the name of Cruxis, I grant you the power of the angels."

The clumsy girl bowed her head. "Thank you…father" She hesitated.

Remiel continued to tell Colette where the next seal was and then thankfully disappeared. As he did so, pink, almost translucent wings appeared on her back, and she ascended into midair.

"Wow!" That broke Lloyd out of his stupor, as he and Genis chorused in surprise at their friends' new ability to fly.

"Colette's an angel!"

"That's so cool!"

As the three teens were messing around, Anna turned to her husband and Raine.

"The next seal is across the sea, will any boats even be sailing with the way things are right now?" She questioned.

"A ship…?" Raine paled, eyes becoming wide with fear.

"Is something wrong?" Anna asked the half elven woman curiously.

"Ahh…no, not at all." Raine mostly regained her composure, although she still looked rather pale.

Kratos spoke up. "We should head to the coast to see what we can find." He turned to the three that were still messing with Colette's wings. "Lloyd, Genis, Chosen, we should go now." He spoke and turned, warping out of the room, the group not far behind.

They exited the ruins when Colette suddenly collapsed to her knees, groaning slightly.

"Colette! Are you okay?" He knelt down, placing his arm around her for support.

"I'm…fine…sorry."

Genis spoke. "You don't look fine! Oh, this is all my fault for making you use your wings too much! I'm sorry." He said dejectedly.

Raine stood next to the girl. "We need to get her to a doctor immediately."

Kratos quickly stepped in, the voice of reason once again. "No, it is best not to move her. The angel said that she would suffer for one night, so let's make camp here and let the Chosen rest."

The others agreed and started doing their own thing. Genis started cooking, his elder sister bugging him to let her 'add her own little twist' to the meal. Genis sensibly flat out refused, not having a death wish.

As Colette slept, Lloyd sat near her, knees pulled up against his body, arms wrapped around them. He rocked slightly back and forth, lost in his thoughts once again.

Anna and Kratos sat, Noishe by their side, watching from the other side of the fire.

"I'm going to go and talk to him. I can't stand seeing him like this…" She sighed sadly, hating to watch her son eaten away at by his grief. Especially knowing that it was their fault. She wished that she could do something about it, but now was not the right time to tell him the truth.

She stood up slowly, dusting herself off before walking over to him and sitting down. Lloyd looked up from his thoughts.

"Hey…what's wrong? You haven't been yourself today at all." Lloyd sighed and rested his head down on his knees before forming an answer.

"You didn't want to lose your son, did you?" He stared up at Anna meaningfully.

The older woman was taken aback. "Wha…? Of course not! I…we, loved our son more than anything in the world! I would give anything to have him back." She glanced over at the teenage boy sitting next to her.

"I think my parents weren't like that, I don't think they wanted me…maybe they even went so far as to get someone to lie about their death just so they could get away from me…I wish I had parents like you."

Shock crept onto Anna's face. She stared, astonished at Lloyd. "Lloyd! I…I really don't think that they would do that to you, you're an amazing guy." She put her hand on his shoulder comfortingly. She felt guilty for doing this to her son, and not even being able to help him.

"Good parents wouldn't do that Lloyd." He stared into her eyes, letting her see how deep his pain and confusion was.

Still staring at her, he spoke. "Well then...maybe they just weren't good parents."

* * *

**So that's chapter 12 done! I know it wasn't very interesting but yeaah, it had to be done...oh well, hope you enjoyed a bit! T_T Review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Found By Cruxis**

Lloyd groaned and sat up groggily, rubbing his bloodshot eyes. The teen glanced around the desert campsite, briefly looking at each of his comrades in turn, all of whom appeared to be sleeping still.

He moaned again, yawning and stretching his arms. The poor boy had not gotten much rest the night before - thoughts, about what the bluenette had said about his parents mainly, had plagued him all night, depriving him of the sleep he so desperately needed. What had he meant, 'closer than you think'? He shook his head, trying to rid his mind of those thoughts that did not have answers right now.

Lloyd tilted his head up towards the sky, which was a brilliant orange-pink colour, reflecting the rising sun. It was still early morning then.

'Right. Think of something to do Lloyd...' he pondered in his mind. 'Got it - breakfast time!' He stood up and stretched once again. Fully awake now, he stumbled lazily over towards the smouldering remains of the fire they had lit during the night for warmth. Believing that little bit of fire that was left to be enough to warm the food up, he got going.

By the time Lloyd had finished preparing the stew, the others had awoken and were now up and ready, nomming on their nommable food.

"How're you feeling Colette?" Lloyd sat down beside the blonde girl, turning to face her and listen to her reply.

"Oh, a lot better, thank you! It was just the trial's effects, like Lord Remiel said. I'm fine now!" She grinned happily, turning towards the boy. "The food's delicious, by the way Lloyd!" Her large, ever innocent crystal eyes rested upon her friend's face, who in return had to laugh at her. "Thanks Colette. You're such a dork though!" He chuckled to himself and walked over to the professor, as Colette replied In a confused manner, "But I didn't do anything?"

After turning back to look at her and shaking his head, laughing, Lloyd spoke to Raine, who was sifting through the contents of her giant bag. "Uhh, professor? What exactly are you looking for?"

The silver haired woman stood up and spoke, turning to face him. "Lloyd, could you check if there is any inhibitor ore among these objects? I would like to use an exsphere."

"Oh, yeah sure, I guess." The boy knelt down and started looking through the junk on the floor. Picking up a small, shining item he spoke. "Professor, this is a key crest, where did you get it?"

"I picked that up from the Ranch - It's engraved with angelic language."

"Typical professor." After offering to repair the key crest to a usable state for the impatient half elf, the group gathered their belongings and set off, heading for the Ossa Trail.

Walking in a comfortable silence next to Colette, Lloyd quickly reached into his pocket and brought something out, tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention. "Hm? What is it Lloyd?" She turned her head to look at her brunette friend, who was staring at the floor and clutching something in his hands. Speaking, he looked up. "Here. I know it's a bit late, but I made this for you for your birthday. I hope you like it." He reached out his hands and dropped the home made present into the blonde's open palms, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as he watched her reaction. "Oh! A necklace! Thank you Lloyd!" Turning it around in her hands to inspect the craftsmanship, she spoke again sadly. "Ah...but it's broken."

"Huh? It was perfect when I made it? Damn. I'm sorry Colette, I'll have to fix it for you when I have time ok?" Lloyd said, taking the necklace back and dropping it back into his pocket.

"Ok. Thank you anyway Lloyd..." the fledgling chosen trailed off, the pair drifting back into silence once again.

That didn't last for long though, as soon they arrived at the Ossa Trail. Coming to a stand-still, the group took in their new surroundings briefly before the interruption of a loud, female voice broke their concentration.

"Stop!" Everyone in turn snapped their heads up, searching for the location of the owner of the voice. Standing atop a small ledge of a cliff, a raven haired woman garbed in shades of purple and black stood impatiently, readying herself into a fighting stance.

"Who the hell is that?" Anna asked as she looked around, searching for some kind of recognition on any of her friends' faces.

"Huh?" Lloyd mumbled in confusion, holding his hand over his brow to protect his eyes from the sunlight as he craned his neck up to look at the mysterious woman.

Quickly, she spoke again in a firm voice. "Is the chosen of mana among you?"

Colette being, well, Colette, chirped up. "Oh! That's me!" Kratos turned to glare at her, surprised at her level of stupidity. If he were anyone but himself, a face palm would've been necessary.

Jumping down from her perch, the unknown female shouted "Then prepare to die!" before rushing towards the group angrily.

Startled, the small blonde chosen stumbled backwards, tripping over something and falling to the ground. As a result, a square shaped hole in the ground opened up and a scream was heard, as the woman was engulfed by the trap. Naturally, several "uh oh's" came from different members at that point.

"...Well that was convenient." Anna said flatly.

Scurrying forwards from her place on the floor, Colette peered into the floor trap after a resonating crash echoed up from the hole. "Oh no, I did it again...!" She said worriedly.

Shaking her head quickly, Raine spoke up. "Nevermind. If you hadn't then you could've been killed. Now, we should press on." she glanced around the group, daring anyone to oppose her. After an agreement from Kratos, the group did just that, with Anna and Lloyd, trailing behind to look down the hole in the floor some more while Genis reassured Colette that whoever the woman was, she wouldn't be dead because of an interesting fact about her weight and gravity.

Anyway, the group continued to progress further through the Ossa trail, fighting a few minor battles on the way. They were approaching the exit when...

"W...Wait!" To the right of where the group stood was an old, knocked-down wooden blockade, and standing in front was the assassin they had encountered earlier.

"Wow, she caught up." Lloyd said, impressed.

"Oh, thank goodness! You're ok!" Colette exclaimed as she stepped towards the bewildered woman.

"Don't move!" Unsurprisingly, she sounded scared.

"That would be a wise move for yourself." The silver haired professor said coldly.

Drawing her apparent weapons again, she shouted. "I won't be caught off this time! Prepare to die!"

Anna sighed, "Again?" as she drew her sword tiredly and charged into battle with the rest of the group.

It was a battle a bit different to any others they had had so far, largely due to the fact that the woman fought with cards that appeared to have magical attributes. She didn't fight alone though. Pulling out a particular card before any of the group could attack her, she summoned a strange looking guardian of sorts to assist her in battle.

"Crap." Seeing the new addition to the battle, Lloyd swore as he shouted out commands. "Everyone, split! Professor, stay back!"

And they did just that. Anna, Genis and Colette attempted to take on the guardian, while Kratos and Lloyd tackled the assassin, with Raine distributing healing to anyone that needed it.

"Aqua Edge!" The elven boy sent water flying towards the guardian, knocking it backwards to give Anna an advantage when attacking it. Colette tried her best, throwing her chakrams at the creature whilst attempting not to hit her friends.

"Ow!" Anna spun around to look at the girl. Remember, I said attempting not to. This is Colette after all. Flustered, she shouted "Sorry mrs Anna!"

Taking advantage of this distraction, the guardian raised its arm and slashed the older woman across the back.

"Crap!" She staggered forwards, turning to face the enemy once more as Colette shouted for Raine to heal her comrade. Seeing this, Kratos stepped in, pushing his wife gently backwards and angrily finishing off the guardian.

Meanwhile, Lloyd now being alone against the assassin called for Genis as back up. "Fireball!" As the other battle was under control, Genis stepped in to help Lloyd, and soon enough the fight was over.

"Ugh..." the clumsy assassin crumpled to her knees, clutching at her sides. "Just you wait! Next time, you'll all die!" And with that, she simply disappeared, leaving the group standing around in confusion.

"Why are people trying to kill us?" Colette muttered sadly.

In response, Kratos spoke. "There are always those that reject salvation." While this answer satisfied most of the group, he himself felt that there was something more to it than that; something deeper. Yet he couldn't quite put his finger on it just yet. Ah well, the answer would surely come with time. Speaking again, he said "Regardless, we need to keep moving. Clearly we're in constant danger. But we'll be safer in a village than in the wild. So let us continue."

The group nodded their approval and moved forward. Or most of them did. Hanging back, Raine stood where she was, staring at the place where the woman disappeared, muttering to herself about clothes. Noticing this peculiar even for his sister behaviour, Genis spoke up. "Sis? You ok?" Breaking out of her little spell, the woman glanced at him before sparing one last look for the spot where the assassin had stood. Slowly, she nodded. "...Yes, I'm fine. C'mon. It's dangerous to fall behind." Ushering her little brother towards the rest of the group, they walked out of the clearing, leaving silence in their wake.

**Okay, so I know that was a really boring chapter but they have to be done sometimes, and I haven't updated in months so I have to get back into it slowly!**

**Apologies for not updating by the way, not going to give you any excuses, just don't be angry - I'm back now ^_^ **


	14. Chapter 14

**Found by Cruxis**

An hour or so after the previous events at the Ossa trail, the group had managed to reach the eastern coastline, arriving at the small fishing port of Izoold.

"About time!" Anna panted in annoyance. She was hunched over with the tip of her sword stuck into the ground, her head resting on the hilt. After the heat of the desert, the fight with the mysterious woman and the actual trek over the Ossa trail to get to Izoold, the group was worn out. "I don't care how quickly you guys want to get to Palmacosta, I'm tired, hot and cranky and I am not going until I've had a lie down!" And with that the woman pulled her sword out of the ground, thrust it back into its sheath and made her way into one of the little wooden buildings, presumably the inn.

There was a short silence where the group continued to stare in confusion at the door of the inn over what just happened, until Kratos cleared his throat.

"I apologise...she is not fond of the heat...or moving, for that matter. I will go check on her. If anyone else wants to rest then I suggest you do so now; I do not know when we'll have another opportunity. If not, meet by the dock in an hour. We cannot afford to waste any more time." The auburn haired man spun around and walked swiftly to the inn, wanting to check on his wife's bad mood. As he closed the door, his angel hearing picked up the others' voices deciding how to spend their time, which sounded as if it was just going to be spent looking around the village. As long as they were careful and didn't get into trouble he didn't care - Raine was with them, so they'd be fine.

After being directed by the innkeeper to the room his wife was in, he knocked and entered immediately, gently closing the door behind him. Anna was laying on one of the beds on her front, head buried in the pillow and arms stuck underneath it. Kratos approached the bed and sat down, laying a hand softly on her back in comfort.

"Is something the matter?" he spoke as she shuffled a bit, contemplating whether or not to turn and face her husband.

"...thinks not parents..." Anna mumbled something, but with a face full of pillow that was all Kratos could work out. He figured it had something to do with what Lloyd had said previously however.

He sighed, "Anna, turn around." He ran a hand exasperatedly through his messy hair as the woman slowly turned, clutching the thin sheet she was under tightly to her. "He thinks we're not good parents..." she trailed off, looking down dejectedly. The man sitting before her let out another sigh and reached out his hand to stroke her hair soothingly. "He doesn't know who we are, love. He doesn't think that...he's just hurt, and confused." He stopped, wishing he could take away the pain that their son felt.

"It's our fault that he's like that though. He's never going to forgive us-" she stopped, her voice breaking as a lump rose in her throat and tears began to trickle down her pale skin. Kratos was himself at a loss for words. He shared the same fear that his wife had voiced, but did not want to let her know nor tell her he would forgive them when he quite likely wouldn't. Instead, he slowly slipped his hands beneath her delicate figure and lifted her to his chest, holding her there as she cried quietly and kissing her forehead sweetly in the hopes of comforting her. After a few minutes, silence fell as Anna slipped into a light sleep. Glancing around the tiny room, his eyes fell on the open window. From it, he could see the others in the group messing around on the short stretch of sand; the three friends playing around in the water whilst the professor watched on, a look of mixed amusement and bewilderment on her face. Warmth crept into his eyes as he looked on, chuckling softly to himself. It was a calming scene, he thought, but they would have to move on again soon. His expression became stoic once again at this thought, and he glanced back down at the beautiful woman in his arms, holding her tighter to him and resolving to hold her there until they did so. It was going to be an even more complicated journey than he had thought.

* * *

After the hour had passed, the larger part of the group were still sitting on the small beach, watching the waves lap calmly at the white sand as they glittered beautifully from the sun's rays.

"It's so peaceful here," Colette sighed contentedly as the others silently nodded their agreement. From behind them, they heard a door open and close, and footsteps growing closer before hearing a woman's voice address them. "Ready when you are guys!" Turning to face the couple, the rest of the party could see that Anna had brightened up a bit since earlier. She still didn't seem 100%, but it was a start.

"Looks like a nap did somebody some good then!" Lloyd teased as he stood up, the others following his lead, poking his tongue out at her childishly. Anna returned the gesture and the two laughed. "C'mon then guys, let's go!" Lloyd instructed, still chuckling at Anna and heading for the dock.

"Uh oh," Genis let out. They had reached the ships, however there seemed to be some kind of commotion going on involving a woman with cropped brown hair. "It's Lyla again."

"Who?" Anna asked. The younger ones proceeded to fill her and Kratos in on what had happened when they went into Lyla's house and told her that Aifread had gone back to his hometown of Luin. "I see..." Anna said.

"Hey! You guys!"

After Lyla had proceeded to rather aggressively negotiate with them and Max, who was apparently 'head over heels' in love with her for some reason, he agreed to give them passage across the sea, essentially because Lyla had bullied him into it. Said woman thrust a letter addressed to Aifread into Lloyd's hands and rushed off. Max sighed, his body slouching in defeat. "When you're ready just let me know guys." He shook his head and climbed onto his ship in preparation.

"Ready everyone?" Lloyd questioned. Everyone but Raine seemed eager to get going, so Lloyd turned back to Max. "Let's go then!"

**Heeyy...back again guys...I'm actually playing the game through again so I SHOULD keep updating this time! Anyway sorry if it seems rushed towards the end, and that it's really short - my laptop's going to run out of battery so I just wanted to get something up for you extremely patient people! _**

**Thanks for all your reviews guys, I appreciate you sticking with me! Let me know what you think! ^_^**

**D.K-C**


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